


A Promise I Can Keep

by Silverkleptofox



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Poison, Spoilers, Xeno-centric, Zeno-centric, some violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-16
Updated: 2016-01-16
Packaged: 2018-05-14 06:23:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5732692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silverkleptofox/pseuds/Silverkleptofox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Xeno is used to talking hits to protect the people he cares about. The others, however, are not used to it. When Xeno is poisoned protecting his friends, they can't quite understand why.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Promise I Can Keep

**Author's Note:**

> Yes I spell it "Xeno."  
> This was written entirely on mobile so forgive any formatting issues.  
> Spoilers for Xeno's power.

"Hey, get over here and help me with this!" Yun shouted at Xeno from where he was chopping root vegetables he had found earlier. "I know you can cook, so no slacking off you perpetual seventeen-year old."  
"Let grandpa sleeeeeep...." Xeno whined as he trudged over to the cooking pot anyway to help Yun with dinner. It had been a few days since they had left the last village in their wanderings. Well, not so much left as escaped.

There had been a bit of trouble with the local government, the usual corruption, and of course Yona stood up to them and made a scene. It had been the right thing to do, but the Happy Hungry Bunch had been chased out of town with a bounty on their heads. They had been running for three days, and finally had found a little peace. 

Jaeha and Hak were off trying to find some meat to eat with Yona, and Shinha and Kija were washing their clothes in the creek nearby.  
"Where did you find these roots?" Xeno asked as he stirred the pot.  
"Xeno found them to the east of the creek, growing near the trees." Yun replied. "Why?"  
Xeno held one up and took a bite out of it. "There's a plant that looks very similar to this that's highly poisonous." He said with his mouth full.  
"WHAT!?!?" Yun yelled "Why would you eat that then!? Spit it out right now!"  
Xeno swallowed and smiled "This one is fine, Xeno was just making sure before we put it in."  
"You don't test if something is poisonous by eating it!" Yun yelled. "You could get hurt!"  
"Even if it was, Xeno would only hurt for a little while. The plant Xeno was thinking of does not have a very strong poison.Better Xeno is in pain than everyone else is dead, right?" He smiled 

Before Yun could reply, Shinha bust through the trees with Kija behind him carrying a bundle of wet clothes.

Xeno stood up "What is it Seiryuu?"

"Bounty hunters." Shinha replied. 

"How far?"

"Twenty minutes." 

"I'll pack up the tent." Yun said quickly. "Kija, help me. Shinha, you and Xeno go find Yona and the others, tell them to run. We'll meet up when we can."

Shinha nodded and looked around. "This way." He said, and Xeno followed. 

It took them about ten minutes to run to where Yona, Hak, and Jaeha were hunting game. Xeno relayed the situation, sparing Shinha the trouble.  
"How much time do we have?" Hak asked quickly.  
"Not much, they have horses." Shinha replied.  
"Damnit, we won't get away in time." Hak cursed  
"Rokuryuu and I can stall them." Xeno offered. "He can jump us over there and we can fight them off."  
"Are you sure?" Yona asked.  
"It's no problem, little miss." Jaeha smiled. "Leave it to Ouryuu and Rokuryuu. You just worry about getting to safety."  
Yona nodded before grasping the both of them in a tight hug.  
"Come back safely. Or I'll never forgive you." She said sternly.  
"Of course." Xeno smiled. Then he jumped on Jaeha's back and Jaeha jumped high into the trees toward the west. 

\-----

Jaeha spotted the hunting party below and dived to land on the path before them. There were five of them. Their horses reared back in surprise and one of the men was thrown off.  
"You!" Shouted someone from horseback. "You are wanted by the leader of our clan! You and all of your companions! Come quietly and tell us where they are or I will take great pleasure in killing you!" 

Xeno jumped off of Jaeha's back and dusted himself off. "We don't really have time to go back to that village, so if you would please let us go Xeno would be most grateful." He smiled. 

Jaeha grinned as well. "We're not going to come quietly, so turn around and head home before you get hurt." He said.

The leader of the bounty hunters drew his sword in rage and charged at the pair of dragons. Jaeha jumped over the horse and Xeno slipped under it, grabbing the buckle of the saddle and flipping it open. The hunter tilted sideways until he was strapped upside-down beneath a running horse. 

"Well who's next?" Jaeha taunted. All four of the remaining men charged at once. Jaeha kicked them off of their horses as he flew over them, and Xeno slapped the beasts' rears to frighten them away. The men scrambled to their feet and surrounded the pair, their swords drawn.  
"Take one more step and I'll slice your throats." One of them said.  
"Well that won't do much good..." Xeno muttered.  
"Maybe for you." Jaeha quipped back. "On three, duck." He whispered.  
Xeno counted in his head before throwing himself on the ground. Jaeha lifted his right leg and spun so fast the men surrounding them had no chance to react. All four fell unconscious. Jaeha put his leg down and stumbled forward. 

"Rokuryuu!?" Xeno yelled  
"I'm fine, their swords just cut my leg is all." Jaeha replied. 

There was a rustling in the bushes behind them. Suddenly there was a sharp pain in Xeno's neck. He whipped around to see the fifth hunter, the leader, standing fifteen feet away with a dart gun pressed to his mouth. He shot another dart toward Jaeha but Xeno leapt in front of him, taking the dart in his shoulder. He grabbed it by the fletching and threw it back at the hunter, nailing him in the throat with it.

"Are you alright?" Jaeha asked.  
"I'm fine, lets get back to the miss." Xeno replied. They would have to walk with Jaeha's wounded leg. He set off in the direction they had come from but stopped after only a few steps. His breathing hitched and his hand shook as he reached up to clutch at his chest.  
"Xeno?" Jaeha asked worriedly.  
Xeno didn't reply. He stared at the ground in front of him, eyes wide and sweat beading on his forehead.  
"Xeno! Damnit Ouryuu, talk to me!" Jaeha yelled.  
"Poison..." Xeno whispered. "The darts..."  
"Damnit." Jaeha cursed. "Damnit all." He scooped up Xeno with both arms and leapt up into the sky, ignoring the pain in his leg. He had to get Xeno back to Yun and fast. Xeno was twitching in his arms... He knew that mortal wounds couldn't kill the yellow dragon, but could poison? Xeno sure seemed like he was about to die. 

\------

"I wish we could start a fire." Yun whined as he sat against a stone wall, shivering. 

"I know." Hak replied. "But if we're still being followed, we can't afford the light."

They had been lucky enough to find a small cave hidden by some shrubs, but it was cold and damp and smelled of rotten earth. The floor was soggy and the walls were jagged and cold, but they were well-hidden. The clothes that Kija and Shinha had spent so much effort washing were soggy and dirty, rolled up with the tent into a bundle that was easy to carry. Everything was wet and everyone was cold, but for now they were safe.

"I hope Jaeha and Xeno are alright." Yona mumbled into her knees where she was curled up next to Hak. "Do you think they'll be alright?"

"I'm sure they'll be fine." Kija smiled. "Jaeha is a very strong warrior, and nothing can hurt Xeno." 

"No." Shinha said quietly from the entrance to the cave. He had sat there cross-legged since they found the place, keeping watch for his brothers. "Ouryuu heals quickly, but he can still be hurt." 

Hak put his arm around Yona's shoulders and held her tightly. "I'm sure they'll be fine, princess." 

Shinha stood. "They're coming."  
He could see Jaeha carrying Xeno in the far distance, which was not unusual by itself, but Jaeha's pants were ripped and bloody and Xeno's eyes were closed. "I think Jaeha is wounded- on his leg. Xeno is... Asleep?" 

"That troublesome womanizer getting himself hurt..." Yun muttered as he rifled through the bundle of wet clothes and supplies looking for something halfway-clean for Jaeha to rest his leg on. He managed to scrounge up a flap of tent that was still clean and dry and pulled out his medical supplies. He heard the 'thump' of Jaeha landing in the forest outside. 

"You're lucky Shinha spotted you and let me know to get the supplies out, you..."

"Xeno's been poisoned!" Jaeha shouted as soon as he was in earshot. Yun and Yona sprang up in suprise as Kija and Shinha ran outside to help. Kija took Xeno from Jaeha's arms while Shinha thrust his shoulder under Jaeha's to take the weight off of his injured leg. 

"Put him down over there." Yun told Kija, pointing to the scrap of tent he had prepared for Jaeha.  
"What happened?!" He demanded as soon as Shinha brought Jaeha inside. Shinha helped Jaeha to the ground and pulled his leg into his lap. It was cleaver than the dirt floor and would have to do. Yona scrambled over to where Xeno was lying.

Jaeha grimaced. "We found the bounty hunters and we chased their leader off and knocked out the rest, but then he came back and shot us with poison darts. Xeno got hit and then took a shot for me. He killed the leader but then he collapsed- he's been twitching all the way back here and he won't wake up." He panted. 

"Do you know what sort of poison it is?" Yun questioned. 

Jaeha shook his head. Shinha pointed to where Xeno was lying. "In his neck..." He said.  
Yona carefully pulled aside Xeno's hair to reveal a feathered dart still stuck on his neck. "Yun! Over here!" She said as she carefully pulled the dart out and placed a corner of her cloak over the wound. Yun took the dart and examined it, turning it this way and that, before giving it a sniff and a quick taste. 

"Do you know what it is?" Asked Hak.

"Not a clue." Yun replied.  
"What do we do?" Asked Yona, desperation coloring her voice.  
"We keep him comfortable and we hope." Said Yun. "The Ouryuu's curse should keep him from dying, or at least I hope, but it might be a long night."  
"Alright." Yona replied. She crawled over to the heap of clothes and found a shirt that was clean, but still wet, and placed it on Xeno's forehead before cradling his head in her lap.

Yun sighed and moved over to where Jaeha had his leg on Shinha's lap. He forced Jaeha's pant leg up, earning a gasp from the green dragon. Shinha flinched and Ao skittered out from his fluff to run to where Xeno was lying.  
"Sorry." Yun muttered. There were five gashes of varying depths on the scaley shin, and some of the scales were split in half.  
"We'll have to disinfect this, and then bandage it up. It should be fine after that. Hak, we'll have to start a fire to boil some water. We'll just have to risk it."

"I don't think they'll be coming after us again tonight." Jaeha said breathily. "Their leader is dead, they'll return to their village before they set out again." 

Hak nodded and went outside to grab enough kindling for a small fire. 

"Does it hurt much?" Kija asked quietly.

"Nothing I can't handle." Jaeha replied. "I carried Xeno all the way back here, after all. How's he doing?" He looked over at Yona.

Yona sniffed, revealing the beginnings of tears in her eyes. "He won't stop shaking." She replied as she carded her fingers through Xeno's long yellow hair. His breath came in quiet gasps and his hands were balled into fists. 

"Damnit. He should be getting better, not worse!" Jaeha snapped. "He can survive being beheaded, this should be nothing. He should be up and making jokes and asking for food, not lying there in pain because of me." He covered his eyes with his palm. "He took that dart for me. I should be dead right now."

"Rokuryuu..." Shinha took Jaeha's hand and pulled it away from his face. "Xeno will be okay." 

"Yeah." Jaeha closed his eyes. "You're right. A little something like this won't keep Ouryuu down." 

At that moment, Hak returned with a bundle of sticks. Yun began helping him build a small fire. "Jaeha, you said that Xeno threw the second dart back at the leader, and that he was dead. How quickly did he die?" Yun asked.

"Less than a minute I think." Jaeha responded wearily. It had been a long night already. 

"Then with two doses, if Xeno was going to die, he would be dead by now." Yun sighed with relief. 

They got the fire going and set the pot of water to boil. Kija helped Yun rip cloths into strips for bandages.

Ao was snuggled in Xeno's hair, but he became restless, pawing at Xeno's face and squeaking up at Yona. Yona looked down and saw that Xeno was starting to tense up at off intervals. She called for Yun. "He's getting worse, I don't know what's wrong!" She cried. Yun stepped over quickly. He placed his hand to Xeno's temple and felt his neck for a pulse.  
"Damn it." He cursed. "Kija, Hak, come hold him down. Xeno's about to seize and I don't want him to hurt himself. Don't hold him down too hard but try to keep him from flailing around."

They both nodded. Hak took Xeno's shoulders and Kija took his legs. Xeno tensed up and his back arched off the floor, and then he collapsed into a fit of tremors. 

"No." Shinha muttered to Jaeha, who was trying to get up.  
"I want to help!" Jaeha hissed.  
Shinha shook his head and pushed Jaeha back to the floor.  
"He's like this because of me, I have to help!" He said. But Shinha wouldn't let him up.

"Yun, he's not breathing!" Hak shouted, still holding Xeno's shoulders. He leaned down over Xeno's mouth to double-check. "Damnit!" He hissed. Xeno's body went entirely slack, not moving one bit. 

"Look!" Kija gasped, pointing to the open chest of Xeno's gown. His chest was gleaming gold, scales forming and disappearing in waves. Yun pushed up Xeno's sleeve to look at his arm- it was the same. His whole body was transitioning between his scaled form and his human one, as if it couldn't decide if he was in mortal danger or not.

"Is that a good sign?" Yona asked hopefully.

"I have no idea." Yun replied. 

Suddenly Xeno shuddered and took a small breath. 

"Oh thank goodness." Yona said, and everyone sighed in relief. Xeno moaned quietly and curled in on himself, his head still in Yona's lap.

"Is he okay?" Jaeha called from the other side of the cave. 

Yun stood and brushed himself off. "He's breathing, and he's stopped shaking, so I think he will be. But he's still unconscious." He said. "You're next." Yun stopped by the pot of now-boiling water and soaked some strips in it before pulling them out with a soon and letting them cool slightly. He brought them over to Jaeha and started wrapping the wound. 

Kija sat at Xeno's feet and wiped his eyes. Hak stood and went to mind the pot, disinfecting more bandages and hanging them to Yun as they cooled. Everyone needed a minute to decompress after the stress of Xeno's episode. 

Xeno lay quietly in Yona's lap, breathing softly if a bit pained. Yona wished he would wake up, but she would take this improvement over nothing. 

Yun finished wrapping Jaeha's leg and pulled out the chopped vegetables from earlier.  
"Since we have the fire going I may as well finish what we started for lunch." He mumbled. Maybe the smell of food would help wake Xeno up. "Hak, Kija, Shinha, go through our pile of things and try to get everything organized back into place. We can wash the clothing again tomorrow if it's safe. Shinha nodded, gently placing Jaeha's leg on the ground before standing.  
"How can I help?" Asked Yona.  
Hak smiled. "You keep watch over Xeno, make sure to let us know if anything changes.  
Yona nodded. 

\--------

After two hours, dinner had been made and served and the tent was separated from the wet and dirty clothes, and Xeno still hasn't woken up. Yun was packing away the pot and clearing away the fire for the night when Xeno moaned softly. 

"Xeno? Are you awake?" Yona asked softly. He hummed softly and his eyes fluttered open. "He's waking up!" She cried happily. Yun and Hak hurried over while Kija and Shinha helped Jaeha hobble up.  
Xeno tried to sit up but Shinja pressed his shoulders back down gently. 

"How are you feeling?" Asked Yun.

"Xeno is very sore and tired, but otherwise fine. Is everyone safe?" He said. Yun sighed in relief. 

"Yeah, we're fine thanks to you and Jaeha." Hak replied. 

"Xeno is glad to hear it." He sighed. He made an attempt to sit up again, and this time Kija helped him. Xeno had his arm wrapped tightly around his stomach- it must have still been hurting him.

"Why did you take that dart for me?" Jaeha burst suddenly.

"Huh?" Xeno tilted his head. "What do you mean? It was a poison dart, Rokuryuu could not survive that. Xeno can, though. It makes sense for Xeno to take it instead."

"But why didn't you just push me out of the way instead? You could have saved yourself too!" Jaeha nearly shouted. 

Xeno smiled. "For Xeno, pain is only temporary. It's okay if it will keep everyone else safe."

"That's not right!" Yona yelled. "Just because the pain is only temporary doesn't mean we want you to hurt for our sake!" 

Xeno dipped his head, his hair covered his eyes. "Xeno is not very strong, and there is not much I can do to protect everyone. I have seen hundreds of my brothers die because I could not protect them. I don't want any of you to die, too. Yona..." He looked at her. "I want to follow you for eternity. So you're not allowed to die, because that's one place I cannot follow you. So if I must be in pain to keep any one of you from dying, then so be it. I would take a thousand poison darts to keep all of you safe." 

"Xeno..." Yona sniffed before wrapping him in a bear hug. Kija and Yun joined in, and they pulled Hak, Shinha, and Jaeha into the pile. 

"If you won't promise not to hurt yourself for our sakes, at least promise that you'll never die on us, okay?" Yona sniffed.

Xeno smiled. "That, little miss, is a promise Xeno can keep."


End file.
